Galvanized Yankees

  One of the true pleasures of longtime membership in the Columbine Genealogical and Historical Society in Littleton, or a group like it, is that we learn so much from attending programs and sharing information with other members of the group. This was especially true recently during a presentation about Galvanized Yankees in the Civil War, presented by Karen Hancock. Her message for our group related to genealogy research. If we had such a person…

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Who are your relatives?

The big event in our family this summer was a trip to Illinois. We transported the cremains of my folks to their homeland, where we became reacquainted with the people and the soil of our upbringing and our ancestors. With this powerful experience still fresh in memory, I hope to shift the focus of this blog from western history in general to topics closer to the heart. This will allow me to share tips about…

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Estes Park and Stephen King

100 degree weather in Denver sent me scurrying off to the high country. Luckily, the Estes Park Genealogical Society invited me to speak at their conference on Saturday. It was a fine event —  friendly, well-organized, and productive. I spoke about Pioneer History and some of the research methods I’ve used with much success to learn about the characters for my biographies, and to sort out the truth about their lives from legends which surround…

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Who Are You?

Family history is a hot topic. On Friday evenings, a television show called, “Who Do You Think You Are?” features well-known actors or actresses, who embark on a journey of self-discovery by searching for clues and stories about their ancestors. This is an exciting prospect for anybody who is interested in family history. The bad news, as has been discussed by my local genealogy society, is that the personalities featured on the show have the…

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Forever Young

As Women’s History Month winds down, census records are on my mind. They are a blessing and a curse to the biographer. Once again, I am researching a Victorian Colorado woman who was fashionably demure about revealing her age and birthdate. Elizabeth “Baby Doe” Tabor was born in 1854. I am not sure of the exact date, because I have encountered negative evidence in that regard. She attained the age of six by the 1860…

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Family Photos

As a genealogist, I place a high value on family photos. They are important threads in the fabric of any family, which allow us to reach back in history, and touch the lives of our ancestors. This past week, my sister and I were fortunate to visit our Mom back in Illinois where we grew up. I admit it, I grumbled some at the suggestion of dragging out slides with screen and projector. After all,…

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Spring Forward in Colorado

As we spring forward deep into March, daylight savings time looms. In spite of this change, with its annoying psychological adjustments, spring brings hope and optimism, and a full history calendar. The highlight of this spring has been the arrival of a small but mighty little baby named Cutler. All difficulties dim and recede with the arrival of a grandchild. A birth of a different sort will take place next month with the publication of…

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Historic Postcards

One of my favorite tools for research and touching the past is the postcard. Antique stores and postcard shows are a great place to view and purchase images from the past. This past weekend, I attended the Denver Postcard and Paper Show with my research friend, Christie. We did not buy much, but we had a wonderful time looking at images from the past. I purchased 2 post cards to give for a birthday present. Christie bought an old mine document.…

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